Giant panda dies of illness in China research base

CHENGDU -- A giant panda named "Lei Lei" died of epilepsy on Wednesday at the age of about 31, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda said Friday.

The center, located in Southwest China's Sichuan province, said that since September Lei Lei had lost the ability to exercise and needed artificial assistance in consuming food, resulting in weakness.

Lei Lei's ailment was due to the combined effects of epilepsy and senile disease, the center added.

Experts and veterinarians treated Lei Lei while breeders were on duty round the clock to take care of it. But Lei Lei's seizure caused a respiratory failure leading to its death.

Lei Lei was rescued in the wild in 1992. It was presumed born in 1989 and has nurtured five pandas in its lifetime.